Bolton calls for 'black book' on China's 'atrocious' conduct on coronavirus

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US intel reportedly concludes the China concealed the extent of its coronavirus outbreak

Reaction and analysis from John Yoo, former deputy assistant attorney general, and Federalist contributor Helen Raleigh.

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Former national security adviser John Bolton on Thursday tore into China’s “atrocious” handling of the coronavirus crisis and called for a “black book” similar to “The Black Book of Communism,” which tracks the deaths caused by communism.

“China’s falsehoods and concealment of data about coronavirus are dangerous to America and the whole world. We need the equivalent of 'The Black Book of Communism' to document for history the almost-incalculable human cost China’s atrocious behavior on coronavirus,” he said in a series of tweets.

CORONAVIRUS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Bolton, who left the Trump administration last year, zeroed in on what the Trump administration has described as a secretive approach by Beijing that left the world blindsided by the virus and unable to stop it from turning into a global pandemic at the beginning of the year.

“Untold numbers of people have died needlessly because of the authoritarian Beijing regime’s conduct,” Bolton said. “The global economy has suffered a catastrophic setback that might have been substantially mitigated had China just been honest.”

The administration has been pushing for the United Nations and G-7 leaders to state specifically that the virus originated in China. President Trump has repeatedly called it the “Chinese virus” while others, such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have called it the “Wuhan virus.”

Trump has played up his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping while also pointing the finger at China for not giving the world enough warning or information about the virus.

CHINA PUSHES BACK ON CLAIMS IT LIED ABOUT CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS, US OFFICIALS STILL SKEPTICAL 

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"China was very secretive. OK, very, very secretive. And that's unfortunate with that. I have great respect for that country. I have great respect for the leader of that country," he said at a press briefing last month. "He's a friend of mine. But I wish they were able to. I wish they would have told us earlier.

On Wednesday, three U.S. intelligence officials accused China of underreporting the number of patients and deaths and said in a report sent to the White House that China's public record of COVID-19 infections was deliberately deceptive and incomplete.

Bolton on Thursday said that the U.S. must gather the facts about the outbreak “before China’s government erases them, not to mention the doctors, officials and average Chinese citizens who know the truth.”

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He also called for the U.S. to adopt new policies to stop “over-reliance” on China in the supply chain “especially for key items like vaccines and any products from which China steals our intellectual property. "

“'The Black Book of China and the Coronavirus';  we need to start the project now. Who will fund it?  Who will write it? Self-starters welcome,” he said.

Fox News' Barnini Chakraborty contributed to this report.